From a costumed and light-hearted jaunt through the city on Saturday night to a challenging climb and fast-paced descent of the Talmadge Bridge on Sunday morning, this is the weekend when hundreds of cyclists gather to pedal through Savannah’s streets, squares and surrounding countryside.

These events and their organizers are helping Savannah become a cycling destination, says Drew Wade, chairman of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and one of the advocates of the fourth Annual Midnight Garden Ride, the charming and family-centric event that rolls out at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Midnight Garden Ride will start and finish at Telfair Square. It will take its participants, expected to number in the range of 650 to 700, on a police-escorted 9.4-mile cruise through several picturesque and historic neighborhoods. “It’s hard to predict” how many people will ride, Wade says, but registration is “20 percent ahead of what it was last year.”

Its distinctive party-hearted and non-competitive atmosphere will include costume contests with cash prizes for best group and individual entries, raffles for gift certificates and bicycles, and a post-race concert featuring a couple of good bands. But the Midnight Garden Ride also has a serious side, Wade says.

The event is the major annual fundraiser for the SBC, a nonprofit group that promotes cycling safety in Savannah through several initiatives and programs. The ride also puts “our name and face in front of the public,” Wade says, and the addition of the post-race concert is an effort to get another segment of Savannah involved with the campaign and its goals.

Just a few hours after the Midnight ride and concert, attention will shift several blocks to The Distillery on West Liberty Street, where the parking lot and surrounding area will be packed early Sunday morning with cyclists awaiting word to start the Ledesma Sports Medicine Savannah Century.

Paula Harmon Johns, one of the event organizers, says they’re “expecting around 1,000” cyclists for the Sunday rides.

Those 37-, 56-, 69- and 103-mile courses cross the bridge and then spread out through roads in South Carolina and Chatham and Effingham counties before eventually finishing back at The Distillery. Another option covers 25 miles, but it does not include the bridge.

Riders from 16 states will participate in the challenge, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, Johns says.

The event has experienced a recent resurgence in registration, said Johns. It had some 400 participants just a few years ago, and then climbed to 500 two years ago, and last year reached 1,000. The roles of the Midnight Garden Ride, which gives families another cycling option for the weekend, and The Distillery, which many riders enjoy both pre-and post-ride, have helped account for that rise, Johns says.

Some 40 to 50 percent of Sunday’s participants will do the 103-mile century, Johns adds. The other long rides, the 56- and 69-mile options, will account for another 30 to 40 percent.

IF YOU GO

• The Midnight Garden Ride will start at the south end of Telfair Square at 8 p.m. Saturday, and will benefit the Savannah Bicycle Campaign. The Good and Evil Party Concert will start at 9 p.m. in the square. Registered riders will be admitted free to the party, which includes performances by Ponderosa and This Mountain. For others, admission will be $10. Registration for the ride is still open. For info, visit midnightgardenride.com.

• The Ledesma Sports Medicine Savannah Century offers several route options during the weekend, including 31 and 53 miles Saturday, and 25, 37, 56, 69 and 103 miles Sunday. Registration for the rides is still open. For info, visit savannahcentury.com.